By Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo
The Executive Secretary of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has said that the agency will not allow any pensioner to suffer deprivation after giving their best in service to the nation.
She gave the assurance Thursday while speaking with journalists in Umuahia at the ongoing mop up verification of pensioners, saying that every qualified pensioner under the defined benefit scheme would be captured in the data base for seamless payment of pensions.
“We don’t want to stress our senior citizens. We believe they deserve the best hence, the need to take the mop up verification to all the zones,” the PTAD Executive Secretary said, adding that there is provision for mobile verification to capture bedridden pensioners.
The PTAD boss, who was in Umuahia to monitor the mop up verification for pensioners domiciled in Abia and Imo States, said that it was expected that about 600 pensioners, including state pensioners with federal share would be verified and captured.
She explained that PTAD decided to embark on the mop up verification in all the zones across the nation after receiving complaints from pensioners who were not captured in the verification carried out in 2019 for pensioners in agencies and parastatals.
Ejikeme therefore called on all unverified pensioners to avail themselves of this weeklong mop up verification to start enjoying their pensions, adding that PTAD would always ensure prompt payment of pensions to pensioners in its data base.
She assured them that those that have not been receiving their pensions after missing out in the 2019 verification would be paid their pension arrears in full if they are captured in the present verification.
Ejikeme hinted that physical verification exercise might no longer be necessary in future after the ongoing mop up verification as PTAD has concluded plans to deploy technology that would enable pensioners to carry out self verification using their handsets.
A pensioner, Mr. Friday Amakwe, 75, who retired from NYSC, commended PTAD for the mop up verification, which he described as “very smooth and well publicised”.
Ruth Onyeanu, 73, told THISDAY that she retired from Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri in 2008 but was outside the country during the 2019 verification exercise.
She expressed profound gratitude to PTAD for giving her the second chance to be verified and captured in the data base as a state pensioner with federal share.
